The Foxes Visit Henrietta
by achillespelides
Summary: Adam Parrish is an honorary Fox. He does not play exy, but he does, indeed, tutor all of the foxes as part of his scholarship. When the Foxes are discussing travel plans for their upcoming game in Virginia, Adam suggests that they all stay with him and Ronan at the Barnes for the remainder of the weekend.
1. Chapter 1

"You can stay with me, if you want," Adam suggests. He's in the girls' room in Fox Tower, sitting on the floor in a circle, eating Chinese out of a take out container with the Palmetto State Foxes. Adam is, by no means, an exy player. Yet, the Foxes are the only people he really hangs out with at PSU. Part of his full-ride scholarship entailed a work-study position of his choice; he opted to be a tutor, and ended up being paired with various members of the team. And eventually the study sessions led to hang out sessions which lead to Adam watching their practices and going to their games.

Which lead to this: Adam being involved in the discussion of the Foxes' upcoming travel plans.

The Foxes were playing the Virginia State Hawks in two weeks, and it happened to be a holiday weekend. They could opt for their normal game schedule—drive up Friday morning, leave immediately after the game and sleep the remainder of Saturday—or they could take advantage of the long weekend and spend some time away from campus. Coach was fine getting hotel rooms for Friday night, but he wasn't took keen on staying Saturday as well, let alone Sunday. It'd be expensive, and despite having recently winning the NCAA Spring Championships, Wymack wasn't eager to spend the extra money.

As the group sat arguing about other possibilities - like driving back Saturday morning then spending the remainder of the weekend in Colombia - Adam spoke up.

All of their eyes shift to him, shocked. "What?" Dan asks, quirking an eyebrow.

"Uh, when you play Virginia State," he shrugs. "I'm from Virginia. I know I rarely ever come to your away games, but if I tag along you guys could crash at my place for the weekend. And for free."

"Your place?" Allison asks, smirking. The Foxes didn't know the details of Adam's home life, but knew the basics of it: he was just about as fucked up as they all were.

"My boyfriend's place, I mean. Our place," Adam says, the phrase sounding weird in his mouth. He doesn't want to think about how Ronan would react to him calling the Barnes our place. "We live on a farm, basically. It's a huge house, we have plenty of beds and space. And Henrietta's less than an hour drive from VSU. You could drive over after the game Friday night and stay till Sunday or even Monday, if you like."

"What about his parents?"

Adam averts his eyes, unsure of what to say. He settles on the truth, though, since he knows the Foxes won't pry. "They're dead." Silence follows, but not for that long. Matt, luckily, senses the awkwardness and breaks it up.

"And we could seriously crash there?" Matt asks, his face lighting up. He and Dan share an excited look.

Adam shrugs again. "Why not?"

"And your boyfriend's okay with this?" Dan asks.

Adam tries to keep his face as blank as possible. No, I'm not sure. He'll probably kill me, but that's okay, he wants to say. Ronan already hates having Adam over 6 hours away from him; there's no way he'll be thrilled that one of the few weekends he comes home their house will be crowded with college students. "Yeah, he'll be fine," Adam lies. He'll deal with Ronan later.

"Look's like we're spending the weekend in Henrietta!" Dan smiles and the Foxes erupt. Adam laughs as Nicky hugs him tight, blabbing on about how excited he is to finally meet his boyfriend. Renee smiles at him supportingly. Andrew stares him down, but that's not unusual. Neil gives him a casual smile.

Adam takes out his phone and decides on a simple text to send to Ronan: Hey, any chance you can dream up a couple of extra mattresses by next Friday?

xxxxxxx

The Foxes win the game, of course. The Hawks aren't a terrible team, but they don't have the same lineup as the Foxes. It's a fairly easy win, but still a tiring game. The Foxes (plus Adam) shuffle tiredly onto the bus and settle into their seats.

"Lead the way, Parrish," Wymack says once everyone's settled down. Adam quickly tells the coach how to get to Henrietta and soon they're on the road.

Ronan didn't take it as badly as Adam thought he would. He wasn't necessarily happy about this plan, but he wasn't angry. He even said he was "excited" to meet Adam's friends, which had almost made Adam choke on his soda.

After about forty minutes, the Barnes came into view.

"Shit, Parrish!" Nicky calls, standing up and peering out the window. "You weren't kidding when you said you lived on a farm."

"This entire place is your boyfriend's?"

"And I thought my house was big . . "

"You can just park right there," Adam says, directing Wymack. He tries to ignore all of the questions and attention — Adam isn't a fan of attention. Plus, his mind is too focused on Ronan to answer any of these questions. He hasn't seen Ronan in nearly 2 months, and his chest is aching at the thought of him.

As the bus groans to a halt, the Foxes fill the aisle in anticipation. Adam leads the group off the bus. They all stop to grab their duffels from the undercarriage of the bus before following Adam towards the front door of the house.

Before he even reaches the porch steps, he hears a loud kerah. He whips around as Chainsaw lands on his shoulder, her feathers pressed against his cheek. The Foxes stare at him in confusion, surprise, and even disgust.

"Hey, girl," Adam says, petting her gently.

The Foxes' mouths are still agape. Renee walks up to Adam and tenderly lifts her hand towards the bird. Adam nods and she gently pets her. "You have a raven for a pet?" Aaron asks, incredulous. He hardly ever speaks to Adam, but something about Chainsaw must have gotten his attention.

"Uh, yeah. Her name is Chainsaw. She doesn't bite," he says, though it sounds stupid and he immediately regrets it. The Foxes' slowly drop their varied expressions and follow him up the porch steps. Chainsaw flies off of him as the door swings open in order to land on her rightful owner.

Ronan Lynch stands in the doorway, looking the same as ever. Black jeans, black t-shirt, blank ink sneaking up his back. His hair is freshly buzzed and his eyes are piercingly dark as they settle on the Palmetto State Foxes. His gaze lightens up only slightly when his eyes land on Adam. Adam grins at him somewhat wildly before running to the door and closing the distance between them. Ronan drops his angry stare and hugs his boyfriend, his arms wrapping tightly around Adam. Adam buries his face in the crook of his neck. "I missed you," he whispers.

"So did I," Ronan says, planting a gentle kiss atop his boyfriend's head. "We'll catch up later," he whispers. Adam nods and pulls away, gesturing to his friends. "This is my boyfriend, Ronan. Ronan, these are the Foxes."

"Hi!" Dan chirps, stepping forward to introduce herself. "I'm Dan Wilds, the captain—"

"Cool," Ronan groans, rolling his eyes. "Follow me."

Adam shoots Dan an apologetic look, but she doesn't seem too phased. They follow Ronan and Adam into the house, gawking at the strangeness of it all. Adam, of course, hasn't told the Foxes about his boyfriend's abilities, and doesn't intend to. He hadn't thought about the fact that half of the house was covered in dream objects when he volunteered it as the Foxes' hotel. But too late now.

"Kitchen's over here. Living room . . . Dining room," Ronan says, flicking his hands in the direction of the rooms. He leads them upstairs to the bedrooms. There are only 4 rooms - the master and the Lynch boys' old rooms - but Ronan's rearranged everything to fit roughly 4 mattresses to a room. He's outfitted each mattress with sheets, blankets, pillows and even towels. The Foxes stare in surprise at the preparation, probably wondering how so many beds ended up here. "You can divide the rooms amongst yourselves. Parrish and I will be in here," Ronan finishes, gesturing to his parents' old bedroom.

"Who's this?" Neil asks, pointing to a picture on the wall. It's a photograph from last summer, right before Adam left for college and Blue, Gansey and Henry set off on their road trip. In it, Ronan and Opal are wrestling in the grass as Adam looks on in fright.

"Oh, that's Opal," Adam says, smiling fondly. Opal, thank God, is spending the weekend at 300 Fox Way. Adam knew better than to keep her here while the Foxes were over. He misses her terribly, but he'll visit her sometime this weekend. "She's . . " Adam doesn't know how to finish the sentence. My kind-of-adopted-dream-daughter?

"My cousin," Ronan interrupts. "She stays with us when her parents are traveling for business."

Neil nods, accepting the lie without question.

"Well, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed," Wymack says. "Thank you for letting us stay here, boys. I'll see you in the morning." He nods at the Foxes before picking the nearest bedroom and heading inside. He flops down on one of the empty beds and is out in seconds.

"So . . . got any alcohol?" Nicky asks, directing the question towards Adam and Ronan.

For the first time that night, a hint of a grin lights up Ronan's face. "Follow me."


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry it took so long to update! My life has been crazy and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write. Also sorry it's short and not that great...I guess I didn't really think through what I want to happen after the Foxes arrive at the Barns...so we'll see where this goes! Thank you everyone for your kind reviews and kudos! It's greatly appreciated!

* * *

Adam had been with the Foxes when they were drunk multiple times. Adam had been with Ronan when he was drunk multiple times. But he had never been with both The Foxes and Ronan when they were all drunk at the same time. It was an interesting experience, to the say the least.

Everyone (except for Renee and Adam) was drinking, eager to let loose after a stressful week of classes and practices. They played games, danced to stupid songs, and explored the acres of land that make up the Barns. "Shouldn't we quiet down? Coach is trying to sleep," Renee said at one moment when the group got particularly loud.

"I promise you he won't wake up," Ronan said, straight-faced. Renee gave him a skeptical look before shrugging her shoulders and continuing her conversation with Andrew. Adam raised his eyebrow at Ronan. "Dream mattresses. Have an extra sound sound-proof feature. Figured it would come in handy."

"How do you think of this these?" Adam asked, nuzzling into his boyfriend's neck. Ronan just smirked.

Now, Adam sits on the living room couch next to Neil, both boys watching their boyfriends talk on the other side of the room, which is a spectacle on it's own. "What do you think they're talking about?" Neil asks.

"I have no idea," Adam whispers in awe. Both Ronan and Andrew are not the talkative type, especially with strangers. But somehow, after a few drinks, both boys wandered off without any struggle. The two boys looked comfortable in their conversation, almost as if they knew each other.

"Ronan doesn't seem like the type-"

"He isn't." Adam folds his legs onto the couch, curling in on himself. "And neither is Andrew."

"Yeah," Neil agrees, sipping his drink. Adam has always been curious about Neil's drinking habits. He rarely ever drinks but when he does, he does it with care, like he's scared of drinking more than just a beer or two. Perhaps he is. Adam knows the rough outline of Neil's backstory - his knowledge patched together from news articles and miscellaneous conversations with the Foxes - but he doesn't know all of the details. But Adam doesn't pry; after all, no one questions his own backstory.

"This house is . . . weird," Neil says after a while. Adam doesn't know how to respond. What exactly can he say? He can't just admit that his boyfriend is capable of bringing objects out of his dreams, or he used to be magically connected to a made-up forest, his best friend died then came back to life, and his ex-girlfriend-turned-friend is a psychic battery. The Foxes may be a unique bunch, but they're almost nothing compared to Adam's strange batch of friends.

"Ronan's dad was an inventor," Adam lies, a lie so engrained in his brain it comes out easily. Neil gives him a sideways glance, but doesn't say anything else. He just smiles, knowing that Adam's hiding something, and stands up. "I'm gonna go find where Nicky ran off to," Neil says, heading out the door. Andrew immediately notices Neil leaving and bolts out after him, always so protective, leaving Ronan and Adam alone in the living room.

"Is everyone outside?" Ronan asks, walking over to the couch and sitting beside Adam. He uncurls Adam's legs and stretches them out over his lap.

"Yeah. I think Matt and Dan are checking out the stables, Nicky might have started a bonfire, and I don't really kno-" Ronan's lips crash against Adam's, soft and gentle yet simultaneously fierce and powerful. Adam presses closer to the other boy, wrapping his arms around Ronan's neck and pulling him closer. Adam's body heats up as Ronan's fingers graze the sides of Adam's face. He's missed the feel of those fingers.

"You're an idiot, Parrish," Ronan growls against his lips.

"I know," he replies, attempting to kiss Ronan again.

But he pulls away slightly, not finished with his fake argument. "I haven't seen you in weeks and you decide to turn my house into a hotel for psychotic athletes," Ronan growls, biting into Adam's neck, making him moan. Adam tries to stop the sound, embarrassed, but it escapes, which only makes Ronan smile.

"I know, I'm sorry," Adam whispers, his hands running over Ronan's short hair. "I can tell them to leave tomorrow if you wa-"

"No," Ronan says immediately, pulling away. He gently places a kiss on Adam's cheek, his lips lingering a second too long.

"But-"

"You're happy with them."

Adam swallows hard. "I'm happy with you, too."

Ronan's eyes shift to the window, where the reflection of the bonfire flickers. "Yes, but this is a different kind of happy," Ronan sighs. "You're comfortable around them."

Adam doesn't quite understand where this conversation is going. "I'm comfortable around you, though. And I get to see them all of the time. I should have thought this through, I should have asked-"

"No," Ronan growls again. "I'm glad they're here."

"Really?"

"Yes, you fucker," Ronan says, nudging Adam in the side. "I like seeing you like this."

Adam is touched by this rare piece of vulnerability from Ronan. He leans forward and kisses him softly, their lips barely pressing against each other. "I like seeing you in general."

"I know," Ronan smirks.

The front door opens and Allison pops her head in. "Come on, you two. You're missing all of the fun!" she says, gesturing for them to come outside.

Adam looks at Ronan in question. He's spent all day with the Palmetto State Foxes. He should probably just head to bed and spend some alone time with his boyfriend. But Ronan stands up and heads towards the door. "You coming, Parrish?" Ronan says, holding open the door. Adam smiles and heads out the door, reaching backwards for Ronan's hand.

The two walk together towards the makeshift bonfire and settle into the circle, where all the other Foxes are already gathered. There are bottles and cups scattered around them, half of the Foxes laying down in the grass in exhaustion, the others sitting on pieces of wood or old wooden chairs they pulled from the porch. When Ronan and Adam join the group, Nicky applauds them and Renee smiles brightly.

"We were just saying how cool this place is," Dan smiles.

"It's like fucking Narnia here," Nicky adds.

"Thanks," Ronan replies.

"You live here alone?" Matt wanders.

"Most of the time, yeah," Ronan shrugs. Adam squeezes his hand. "My brothers sometimes stay when they're in town. And Opal, too."

"Do you go to college?" Renee asks, leaning forward.

"No."

"What do you do all day?" Kevin grumbles, almost accusingly. Adam shoots him a look but he doesn't react.

"Whatever the fuck I want," Ronan replies, smiling mockingly at Kevin. Some of the Foxes laugh. Kevin keeps his face blank.

"Did you grow up close to here, Adam?" Dan asks.

It's a tricky question. It's not meant to be too personal-the Foxes know their boundaries-but it's further than any of them have ever prodded. All Adam's really ever admitted about his past is that him and his family aren't close, and that his friends are his real family.

"Uh, no. About 30 minutes away or so," Adam shrugs. Ronan places a gentle hand on Adam's back, steadying him.

"How did you two meet?" Nicky says, finishing the rest of his drink.

"School," Ronan grumbles at the same time Adam says, "Mutual friend."

"Wow. What a riveting story," Allison snorts, laying back in the grass.

"What a riveting personality," Ronan retorts back. Allison doesn't respond, but Adam knows she's probably smiling. Allison and Ronan will get along nicely.

"I like you," Nicky says, pointing at Ronan. "You're like Andrew but with less of a hassle."

Ronan raises an eyebrow, watching as Andrew casually tosses his empty can at Nicky's head. Adam muffles his laugh. "I disagree," Adam smiles. "Ronan is very much so a hassle."

"The fuck does that mean, Parrish?"

"Ooh, language," Dan teases.

"It just means that you're not exactly trouble-free," Adam jokes, wrapping his arm tightly around his boyfriend. The others laugh and continue talking, eventually drifting away from the topic of Ronan to school and exy and politics and plans for spring break. Ronan listens patiently - something Adam is astonished by - and gets along with everyone. For some reason, Adam feels proud of this, like Ronan's just accomplished something major, though all he's done is been civil. But still, Adam feels good knowing that Ronan cares enough about him to get along with the Foxes.

They eventually make their way back into the house, trashing empty bottles before climbing up the stairs sluggishly. The Foxes divvy up into different bedrooms and eventually all drift off to sleep. Adam curls against Ronan in bed, basking in the warmth of Ronan's skin pressed against his. He sleeps peacefully, and when he wakes up, Ronan hasn't dreamt up any nightmarish creatures, so Adam suspects Ronan slept well, too.

When Adam heads downstairs to start making breakfast for the Foxes, Opal is sitting at the kitchen table across from Blue Sargent.

"Adam!" Blue says, as Opal pummels into him, wrapping him in a hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were visiting this weekend? And why is there a huge bus outside?"


End file.
